Food & Cooking 20 Brilliant Ways to Use Lavender in Your Recipes By Frances Kim Frances Kim Website Frances is a freelance writer for MarthaStewart.com. Editorial Guidelines Published on August 29, 2016 Share Tweet Pin Email Trending Videos Photo: Jonathan Lovekin If you appreciate the medicinal and cosmetic properties of lavender—with its intense herbal scent—as an ingredient in soaps, essential oils, or sachets, you'll be happy to learn that there are even more exciting ways to use it. The leaves and flowers of this woody herb are edible, and more and more home cooks are using it creatively in their favorite recipes. Native to the Mediterranean, lavender comes from the Lamiaceae family along with oregano, rosemary, sage, savory, and thyme—more familiar herbs used in everyday cooking. Whether you're using it as a garnish or a main ingredient, lavender lends a subtle floral flavor to sweet or savory dishes. Infuse honey with lavender to add unique flavor to salad dressings, desserts, and cocktails. Combine it with garam masala for spice-rubbed turkey, or blend it with sugar to sweeten strawberry-rhubarb galettes—lavender can be incorporated into just about any kind of dish. Here, you'll find a wide range of recipes that use lavender unexpectedly. Just remember that a little goes a long way: No one wants to eat soap for dinner! 01 of 20 Mini Blueberry-Lavender Cornmeal Cream Tarts Jonathan Lovekin Buttery cornmeal crusts, rich lavender-vanilla whipped cream, and juicy summer blueberries—is your mouth watering, too? These elegant tarts are a surefire showstopper. View Recipe 02 of 20 Wyebrook Farm Fried Chicken Mikkel Vang A sprinkling of fresh lavender is a beautiful and surprisingly final flourish for buttermilk fried chicken. View Recipe 03 of 20 Concord Grape and Lavender Sorbet Naho Kubota This four-ingredient icy treat is stunning in both color and flavor, thanks to sweet Concord grapes and fresh lavender leaves. View Recipe 04 of 20 Beet Salad With Honey-Lavender Dressing Mikkel Vang Take vinaigrette to new heights by adding fresh lavender. It makes a delectable dressing for this colorful salad of beets, Swiss chard, pecans, and goat cheese. View Recipe 05 of 20 Spring Cupcakes with Sugared Flowers Sang An This is one of our all-time prettiest (and tastiest!) desserts. Moist chocolate cupcakes are topped with lavender-spiked icing and sugared pansies and violas. View Recipe 06 of 20 Pepita and Lavender Brittle Brittle can be a showcase for so much more than peanuts! This version pairs crunchy pepitas (green hulled pumpkin seeds) with delicate lavender. View Recipe 07 of 20 Lavender-Infused Lemonade Anna Williams Sunny lemonade gets a double dose of lavender—dried lavender flavors the simple syrup, and fresh sprigs are used as a garnish. Bonus: It can be made up to a week in advance. Avoiding sugar? Try our raw honey variation! View Recipe 08 of 20 Lavender-Fleur de Sel Caramel Sauce Take homemade caramel from good to great by amping it up with dried lavender and fleur de sel (fancy salt!). It's delicious over ice cream or cake and makes a lovely hostess gift. View Recipe 09 of 20 Mini Strawberry-Rhubarb Galettes Jennifer Causey Take the classic combination of strawberries and rhubarb to the next level by flavoring them with homemade lavender sugar. Divide among puff pastry squares for the perfect individual desserts. View Recipe 10 of 20 Lavender Spritzer You only need three ingredients to make this elegant thirst-quencher: sugar, dried lavender blossoms, and sparkling water. View Recipe 11 of 20 Lavender-Grape Tart Team buttery, golden pastry with juicy grapes and aromatic lavender for a spectacular fall dessert. View Recipe 12 of 20 Three-Cheese Cake Orange segments tossed with lavender honey and dried lavender cut the richness of this luxurious cheesecake beautifully. Decorate with fresh lavender blossoms to really wow the crowd. View Recipe 13 of 20 Lavender Galaktoboureko (Custard-Filled Phyllo) Sang An Our take on this classic Greek dessert calls for infusing the traditional semolina custard filling with lavender and honey before encasing it in delicate phyllo pastry. View Recipe 14 of 20 Honey Lavender Ice Cream Lavender is the perfect partner for rich, eggy ice cream. Serve with your favorite shortbread cookies. View Recipe 15 of 20 Wild Turkey with Lavender Masala Rub turkey with bacon fat and a mixture of dried lavender and garam masala for a bird unlike any you've had before. It's great for a fall dinner party—or a nontraditional Thanksgiving. View Recipe 16 of 20 Peach and Cornmeal Upside-Down Cake Don't let pineapples have all the upside-down fun! Ripe peaches and fresh lavender give this topsy-turvy cornmeal cake tons of flavor. View Recipe 17 of 20 Chocolate Pecan Pie with Chocolate Crust Everyone will love this chocolaty riff on pecan pie. Make it extra special by garnishing with lavender before your guests dig in. View Recipe 18 of 20 Lavender Champagne Laurie Frankel Champagne gets a floral finish by adding lavender simple syrup and garnishing with a fresh lavender sprig. This would make a elegant seasonal cocktail at a summery garden soirée. View Recipe 19 of 20 Lavender Honey Stir fresh or dried lavender blooms into warm honey and let the mixture infuse overnight. Then, heat the honey and pour it through a fine sieve. Now it's ready to be added to whip cream to spoon over figs and raspberries, blended into creative cocktails, or served on a cheese board. View Recipe 20 of 20 Lavender Salt Turn your lavender crop's bounty into a lovely garden gift with this salt blend, which can be used as a rub for chicken, fish, or lamb. Combine just-about-to-bloom, chopped lavender flowers with either fluer de sel or coarse salt and package in an air-tight container. View Recipe Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit